Narwhal Capital Management Acquires 5,328 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Narwhal Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 161,397 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 5,328 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 5.7% of Narwhal Capital Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Narwhal Capital Management’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $78,055,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% in the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% in the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter valued at about $49,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $416.03 on Wednesday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $356.28 and a 1 year high of $555.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $400.12 and a 200-day moving average of $435.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.09 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The company had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.46 earnings per share. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 21.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $675.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $556.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $525.00 price target (up from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $575.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Thirty-nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $560.88.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BNP Paribas sees significant upside potential for Microsoft, citing strong AI demand, more than 25 million expected paid Copilot seats, and Azure growth that could stay above 40%. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square has taken a large Microsoft position, which some investors view as a vote of confidence in the long-term AI thesis. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators continue to argue Microsoft remains a strong long-term AI beneficiary, with some saying recent weakness may be creating an attractive entry point. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s recent earnings beat was solid, but the stock has remained weak since the post-earnings sell-off, suggesting investors are focused more on forward guidance and AI spending than last quarter’s results. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is also benefiting from broader AI ecosystem news, including new products and governance tools built around Microsoft Foundry, which supports the company’s enterprise AI platform narrative. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Several pieces question whether Microsoft’s AI infrastructure spending is becoming too costly, with criticism centered on “compute” expenses and possible margin pressure. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft was also the subject of a bearish Seeking Alpha note warning that its planned AI infrastructure spending could weigh on returns and valuation. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Some headlines highlight that major holders such as the Gates Foundation have exited Microsoft, adding to investor concern about shifting sentiment among large shareholders. Article Title

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $5,045,695.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.

Microsoft’s product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).